TORE SUPRA: a tokamak with superconducting toroidal field coils-status report after the first plasmas

The technology for TORE SUPRA involves all the problems related to the fabrication and the operation of large cryogenic superconducting coils and of the associated cryogenic system, so is expected to provide significant experience for developing the next generation of machines for controlled fusion. TORE SUPRA has been designed to operate with plasma pulses in excess of 30 s. Operation started in April 1988 with a toroidal field of 2 Teslas. Discharges of 500 kA with a 3-s current flat top were obtained after a few days. Machine parameters where then raised to their normal values (B~4.5 and I_p~1.7 MA). the discussion covers the goals of the SUPRA, an overview of the basic machine, the conductor the toroidal field coil system, and the cryogenic system